If Nebraska leaves, everything will change.

That’s the basic message we’re getting from the Big 12 members.

Nebraska, an apparent target of the Big 10 Conference for expansion, holds the key. It is the only team in the Big 12 North with the football history and pedigree to rival Oklahoma and Texas.

If it leaves, Colorado and most of the Big 12 South will most likely bolt to the Pac-10. Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Missouri will have to look for other options.

The Big 12 schools don’t want to wait until that happens. They want a commitment to the Big 12, and they want it in writing.

This is all about football. It’s all about money, and football generates the most. The Big 10 has a lot of it — more than the Big 12 — in large part because of the conference-owned television network.

Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are rumored to have an offer on the table from the Pac-10 to create a 16-team super conference. Such a conference would have a hold over two of the Top 5 media markets in the country, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Houston, San Francisco, Seattle and Denver would also be in the picture.

A hypothetical “Pac-16” could end up being the most lucrative athletic conference in the country. With no Nebraska, there’s no reason to stay with the Big 12.

If Nebraska doesn’t make a commitment, then OSU should join the other schools in the likely move to the Pac-10. The money makes the move worth it. Staying with traditional rivals like OU and newer ones like Texas Tech makes the move worth it.

That would mean saying goodbye to Kansas and their basketball team. But it would also mean saying goodbye to a school like Iowa State. I like Ames, but athletically, Iowa State is dead weight.

It would mean saying hello to a lot of money. But most importantly, it would mean not getting left behind, like Kansas, and forced to fend for itself.

Try to keep the Big 12 together, OSU. But if Texas and Oklahoma want to leave, make sure you take the offer and follow.